SAN DIEGO — Three days after the U.S. men’s national soccer team fell behind in extra time to find itself on the verge of Concacaf Gold Cup elimination, only to rally for a dramatic equalizer and send the match to penalty kicks, the Americans did it all again Wednesday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
But this time, goalkeeper Matt Turner couldn’t bail out his squad with multiple shootout saves. With a 5-4 loss on penalties after a 1-1 draw, the United States fell in the semifinals and failed to advance to the Gold Cup title game for just the second time in the past 10 editions of the biennial tournament.
The shootout came after Jesús Ferreira’s 105th-minute volley knotted it at 1 after Iván Anderson’s go-ahead goal for Panama in the 99th. Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera denied Ferreira and Cristian Roldan in penalties, while Adalberto Carrasquilla converted the clinching shot. After Turner made two saves (and one shot hit the crossbar) against Canada in Sunday’s win in Cincinnati, he could deny just one of Panama’s six shots.
The Panamanians advanced to face the winner of the evening’s other semifinal between Mexico and Jamaica in Las Vegas, with the final set for Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
With an interim coach at the helm and a largely second-string squad roaming the field, the United States entered the Gold Cup with ambitious expectations but the understanding that the regional championship would be no bellwether for the broader state of the program.
After the full-strength U.S. squad defended its Concacaf Nations League crown last month, the Americans fell short of retaining both regional titles they won in the summer of 2021. This is the first time the Americans failed to reach the Gold Cup final since 2015.
After a scoreless 90 minutes, Wednesday’s match came to life in extra time. Panama took the lead when Anderson darted behind the U.S. back line, took a touch around the charging Turner and slotted into an empty net.
The United States responded six minutes later. Jordan Morris headed Matt Miazga’s hopeful service toward the top of the box, where Ferreira coolly volleyed into the corner for his seventh goal of the tournament, tops in the Gold Cup.
U.S. interim coach B.J. Callaghan made three changes from the lineup that squeaked past Canada: Aaron Long stepped into central defense, Cade Cowell got the nod on the left flank, and center forward Brandon Vazquez made his first start of the tournament.
Capitalizing on an extra day’s rest, Panama Coach Thomas Christiansen rolled with the same 11 players who started a 4-0 win over Qatar (a guest team in the tournament) on Saturday in Arlington, Tex.
But it was the United States that came out of the gate buzzing when Vazquez forced a turnover deep in Panama’s end and picked out Cowell for a one-timer that rang the post 21 seconds in.
As the half unfolded, Panama seized control. In the 22nd minute, José Fajardo nodded a promising chance over the bar. Édgar Bárcenas appeared to give Panama the lead six minutes later when he converted from close range, but he was flagged for offside. Shortly before halftime, Ismael Díaz couldn’t steer a point-blank shot on target.
The Americans nearly took the lead seven minutes into the second half, when Vazquez missed an open net with an off-balance bid off Cowell’s crafty delivery. Seconds later, Turner punched Díaz’s open header over the bar.
Callaghan brought on World Cup veterans Roldan and DeAndre Yedlin in the 63rd minute, and they nearly combined on the opener two minutes later: Roldan picked out Yedlin’s overlapping run, and the right back found Ferreira, who dragged his 15-yard effort inches wide.
For a moment, it appeared Panama had the winner in second-half stoppage time when Díaz got behind the U.S. defense in the scramble following a corner kick and fired past Turner. But once more, it was waved off for offside.
Before topping Canada, the United States had competed in just one shootout in the past 17 years. But after a scoreless second extra-time session, the Americans went to penalties for the second time in four days.